Monday, February 04, 2008

Oh good grief!

Take a look at this:

Responding to complaints from the Religious Right, Congress has passed legislation mandating that the phrase "In God We Trust" be moved from the edge to the back or front of the new presidential dollar coins.
...
The U.S. Mint has been releasing gold-colored dollars honoring each non-living U.S. president. Four coins are released per year. The first four coins, honoring George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, were issued in 2007.

Under a mandate from Congress, the Mint was required to place the national mottos "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum" along the edge of the coins. The idea was to allow for more dramatic portraits on the obverses of the coins and better art elements on the reverses.

But many in the Religious Right went ballistic after a batch of coins was inadvertently produced without the mottos on the edge. They also complained that the words were hard to read and that they would wear off over time.
...
Although there was never any evidence that the Mint was considering removing the motto, many Religious Right activists insisted that relegating "In God We Trust" to the edge of the coins was some kind of nefarious plot to ditch the phrase altogether.

Sigh. Deep sigh.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous10:13 PM

    Let me see now. We are killing people in Iraq. We have all but forgotten about helping Afghanistan get back on its feet. We are beating the drums of war towards---well, just about anyone who disagrees with us. Homes and businesses are still waiting to be rebuilt in New Orleans and the Gulf coast. We seem to heading towards a recession and numerous other things that directly affect people and their well-being. So, let us ignore all of that and get our panties in a wad about what is on a bunch of damned coins. You gotta love this country.
    Carolyn L.

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